Renowned French Marathon Runner Philippe Fuchs Arrives in Beijing after Running for 161 Days and 8,500 Kilometers

Beginning his run on March 7 as part of Dassault Systèmes’ “Virtual Plus Reality Challenge”, Philippe Fuchs, a virtual reality researcher by profession, arrived in Beijing on August 14 at 2:30 pm at the Olympic Stadium

Launched on March 7 in Paris, the V+R Challenge represents a new genre of sports experiences. The challenge is based around an ultra marathon from Paris to Beijing involving three axes:

• A technologically advanced mini-website based on the latest 3D solutions allowing the general public to follow the Paris-Beijing race in real-time• A charity event in partnership with Sports Without Borders allowing the general public to join the marathon through an innovative application• A global premiere for science and sports with the Marseille Motion Science Institute using Philippe Fuchs’ biomechanical data to model his stride

The accomplishment of an original sports challengeAfter having run 8,500 kilometres, worn out 10 pairs of running shoes, and travelled across 2 continents and 7 countries in 24 weeks and 161 days, Philippe Fuchs has arrived at the end of his adventure launched with Dassault Systèmes : to run an ultra marathon from Paris to Beijing for the benefit of science and charity.

Human encounters, emotions, moments of fatigue and doubt, breathtaking landscapes and dramatic weather, Internet users were able to follow the integrity of the V+R Challenge and Philippe Fuchs’ route in real time on the dedicated website: http://www.3ds.com/vplusr. Thanks to TVnima, a Dassault Systèmes real-time 3D broadcasting technology, they were able witness the adventure’s events as they unfolded via multimedia journals animated by Philippe Fuchs’ 3D avatar. Beyond its sports and technological exploits, the V+R Challenge also served as a scientific mission as well as a charity race for the benefit of Sports Without Borders.

In addition to Philippe’s 8,500 kilometers, Internet users can submit virtual kilometers by running with photorealistic 3D avatars within 2D photos. Virtual or real, Dassault Systèmes will transform each kilometer run into 1 Euro to benefit the charity Sports Without Borders. Today the V+R kilometers tally 59,200. The virtual run remains open until September 15. Internet users can support Sports Without Borders by submitting their own virtual run from the dedicated website (http://share-vplusr.3ds.com/en/your-turn/) or from Facebook, thanks to an exclusive application developed by Dassault Systèmes.

The beginning of a new challenge for Dassault Systèmes and its partnersThe end of this original sports challenge marks the beginning of another challenge for Dassault Systèmes and its implication in the world of sports. Beyond the sports exploit, the marathon allowed scientists to gather precious biomechanical data from Philippe Fuchs’ stride. The Marseille Motion Science Institute, in collaboration with Dassault Systèmes, will use the data as part of a long-term study of the human foot. This is the first step in a three-year project aiming to create a biomechanically-accurate virtual foot in 3D. Scientists will then use realistic simulation to study the virtual foot and learn more about the consequences of fatigue, physical constraints and sports equipment on the human foot.